Politics

Protesters try to ICE out detention center in Surprise

Planned project attracts overflow crowd to city council meeting

Thousands of anti-ICE protesters chanted and held signs outside of Surprise City Hall on Feb. 3 to draw attention to the detention facility the Department of Homeland Security has planned in Surprise.

Independent Newsmedia/Jason Stone

A crowd of people lineup hours early to get into the Surprise City Council chambers to speak at the Feb. 3 meeting.

Independent Newsmedia/Jason Stone

Phoenix residents Janet Johnson, left, and Nancy Noto joined more than a thousand other protesters of an ICE detention facility outside of Surprise City Hall on Feb. 3.

Independent Newsmedia/Jason Stone

Angelica Calzada has lived in the Original Town Site of Surprise for four decades.

Calzada’s parents and grandparents are from the neighborhood and she attended Dysart High School when Surprise was only half the size it is now.

But until recently, Calzada said she never feared for her safety because of her Mexican heritage.

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